IN BRIEF / ENERGY

SEC Is Looking Into Mirant Accounting

Mirant Corp. said that the Securities and Exchange Commission has started looking into its accounting and energy trading after the company disclosed last week that it may have misreported $253 million in assets and liabilities.

The SEC asked for details on transactions with other companies, as well as shareholder lawsuits and energy sales in the West during California's power shortage, Mirant said.

Mirant, a power producer and North America's biggest natural-gas trader, last week said it mistakenly claimed ownership of $85 million in gas inventory and overstated $100 million in payables it owed. It also may have booked $68 million in accounts receivable in the wrong period.

Mirant expects to report more on its accounting after a review, general counsel Doug Miller said. Chief Executive Marce Fuller said last week the errors were honest mistakes and not intended to deceive investors.

Shares of Mirant, based in Atlanta, fell 56 cents, or 16%, to $2.93 on the NYSE. They have plunged 91% in the last year.